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Study the phenomenon of ‘insights’ or ‘ideas’ regularly occurring in unrelated places, for instance in the shower, while driving the car, or on the edge of sleep. Is there a psychological reason this is a common experience amongst creative individuals? Are there ways to generate, or call forth, those flashes of brilliance? Discuss the implications if this were a controllable situation.

This article could also explore the metaphysical aspect of receiving creative ideas. – Venus Echos3 years ago0

Your final sentence was exceptionally thrilling to me. It would be interesting if we could just conjure up these moments of clarity at will. I don't drive so can't comment on that, but the other circumstances you've described are tasks repeated so frequently that our minds are able to wander elsewhere without harming the physical actions that have become routine. – Nicola3 years ago1

I agree with the previous comment. I believe there's been research done in this area, that when you do something that doesn't require much thought (like brushing your teeth, eating breakfast, walking to work/school) you are essentially on auto-pilot. Your mind is at rest essentially so it can take the time to work out other problems in your sub-conscious and bring it to the forefront. This is why it's necessary to take a break from an intellectually grueling task, at some point the mind just needs a break and re-visiting at a later time can bring new insights. – mbaughjones3 years ago0

As a university student, I am an accomplished procrastinator. The problem is that I still receive positive feedback on papers that I leave to the absolute last minute. The professors aren’t aware of the circumstances in which the paper was written (in a 12 hour marathon fuelled by coffee, chocolate and cigarettes. This reinforces my mental adoption of procrastination as a positive motivator. Your article has given me some insight and options into what I can do to change this. Thank you.